In the most ambitious survey ever conducted by Colby, 2,198 alumni and alumnae--more than 10 percent of the living alumni body--completed a lengthy questionnaire last April. The results are in, and while the data confirm many of the College's perceptions of itself, they also include some surprises.

"The common thread that most consistently weaves through survey respondents' positive ratings for, and feelings about, Colby College is their academic experience--most specifically the quality of the faculty and the impact faculty members had on their lives," wrote Jack Maguire of Maguire Associates, Inc., the firm commissioned to do the research.

And the most important measures of the Colby experience were extremely positive:

While those overall scores are impressive, they are statistically even higher among recent (post-1989) and older (pre-1965) graduates than in the class years 1965-89. The lower satisfaction ratings from the late 1960s and 1970s are consistent with findings at other institutions and are attributed to social unrest surrounding the Vietnam War and Watergate eras. The depression of Colby alumni satisfaction ratings through the 1980s, however, are attributed to Colby-specific issues, the fraternity-related issues in particular.

Maguire noted that the lowest overall-satisfaction rating of any age group (7.7 for classes that graduated from 1980 to 1984) is bad only in comparison to the younger and older groups. From 1985 forward, the trend of increasingly well-satisfied alumni is positive and reflects the College's ascendance among the nation's best colleges.

Data comparing how alumni rank the importance of 14 educational features at any institution against how they feel Colby measures up shows perceived room for improvement in career counseling services and in the racial and ethnic diversity of the student population. While the importance of intercollegiate athletics is far and away at the low end among those measures of quality, Colby athletics outperform that expectation, ranking at the midpoint on the quality scale.

Among Colby's hidden strengths, the consultants listed "prudent management/fiscal discipline" and "financial strength and stability." "Colby is seen among its peers as a place that has its act together," said Pat Casey of Maguire Associates. Financial strength is a relative matter, however; though Colby's endowment is in the bottom third among NESCAC colleges' endowments, 35 percent of alumni cited "Colby has enough money" as a reason for not contributing.

One survey respondent wrote on the questionnaire, "It's great to see the College soliciting opinions on how to improve itself. Shows it's not taking anything for granted."

Taking off from that remark, the report concludes: "The consultants at Maguire Associates were struck by similar sentiments at the beginning of this market research project and continue to admire the drive that exists at Colby to be excellent in all it does. Given the successes of the past decade in the advancement areas, there could be a temptation to 'coast' a bit. But that does not appear to be Colby's style."